Rev. Al Sharpton, the former progressive activist who has blossomed into a highly paid anchor at MSNBC, is under fire for reportedly accepting a $500,000 gift from the Kamala Harris campaign shortly before hosting her for a glowing interview.
Sharpton, through a charity he founded, received a half-million dollar gift from the vice president’s campaign in two lump sums: one for $250,000 on September 5th and another on October 1st, according to the Daily Mail.
The disclosure was made on campaign finance statements released following the election. In the run-up, Sharpton, 70, was an authoritative support of Harris, leading to his securing of a sit-down interview with the Democrat just two weeks before Election Day.
The exclusive interview aired on October 20th on MSNBC, providing Sharpton with an opportunity to bask in the good fortune of having the media-averse Harris boost his ratings. “Donald Trump should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States, he has not earned the right. And that’s why he’s going to lose,” Harris told him. Now, Sharpton, a former civil rights leader, may be forced to defend himself from charges of payola.
Neither MSNBC, Sharpton, or his charity National Action Network replied to the Mail’s request for comment. The large donation was not disclosed during Sharpton’s interview with Harris, one that journalism ethics experts believe is necessary to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
During the interview, Sharpton asked Harris about her campaign stops in Black hubs like Georgia and if she worried about flagging support among Black men. “It’s just not panning out in reality in terms of when I go to, last night, Atlanta, and have 10,000 people at a rally,” she replied.
Elsewhere, Sharpton helped Harris push back against allegations that she was overzealous as a California prosecutor, putting Black and Latino men behind bars for nonviolent crimes.
“You used to be attacked for being too progressive as an attorney,” Sharpton observed during the interview. After he called President-elect Donald Trump a “con man” in 2019, the Republican reacted graciously.
“I have known Al for 25 years. Went to fights with him & Don King, always got along well. He loved Trump!” Trump wrote on social media. “He would ask me for favors often. Al is a con man, a troublemaker, always looking for a score. Just doing his thing.”
Following the election, Sharpton joined “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough for an absurdist moment on cable TV as they did their best to decipher why Black and Hispanic men supported Harris at lower percentages than past Democratic nominees. Sharpton nodded along pensively as Scarborough lamented the “racism” and “misogyny” among minority men. “You and I have talked about this before,” Scarborough said, pointing at Sharpton. “A lot of Hispanic voters have problems with Black candidates!”
Sharpton, who is Black, piled on. “And you’ve got some Hispanics who don’t like each other! And some of the most misogynist things I’ve heard on her get-out-the-vote tour came from Black men!”
